Volume Five: Unrivaled
Chapter 742: The Warriors Dynasty Must Come to an End
But no matter how deep a franchise's foundation was, there would come a day when it ran dry. The Celtics had gone more than twenty years without a title, won one in 2008 with their Big Three, then went another ten years without one. Much of their blue-blood aura had faded, and they could only be considered an old powerhouse now. Antetokounmpo had only made the All-NBA Third Team last season. Many of his points had come from cutting in for dunks after the Tsunami Brothers drew the defense, all easy buckets. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you would never be defeated. The Rockets understood the Warriors, but the Warriors did not understand the Rockets, putting them at a natural disadvantage. As time went on, even 20+10 became 19+10, then 18+10, then 18+9... Shooting guards: Brown, Bogdan, Caruso, Connaughton, Hart. Young people only cared about the present. The Warriors' five championships in six years were the myth of this era. Harden watched Curry, one of the "two heroes of '09" alongside him, put on his fifth championship ring, and a trace of envy appeared on his face. He was no longer young. If he could not win a ring in the next few years, he might never get another chance. Since he was no longer a superstar, he would find one who could lead him to victory. The constant emergence of new-generation superstar point guards made Paul seem like a prehistoric man. His explosiveness was inferior to Westbrook's, his drives inferior to Rose's, his three-point shooting inferior to Curry's, his all-around game inferior to Harden's. Even the floor management he had once been proudest of only drew scorn. Fans of both teams had begun trading